The Cost
by Thalia'sMask
Summary: Kag/Inu. Kagome has just graduated and is now a freshman at The University. This is about Kagome's trials with being on her own, making new friends, and finding her place. With Sango as a roommate and other new friends, she just tries to adjust to college


The Cost

By: Thalia's Mask

Summary: Kag/Inu. Kagome is a new student at The University, a public college in her state. This is a story about the trials Kagome faces as a girl turning into a young woman and trying to find her place and experiencing new things, some helpful and some shameful.

A/N: A lot of the experiences Kagome goes through in this story are based heavily on my own experiences as a freshman in college. So, I'm hoping it will feel more realistic because of the real emotion behind it.

Chapter 1

Today is the anticlimactic end to a grueling four years. All throughout high school, from the first day you step into the doors till the seemingly endless summer after your senior year, everyone waits for this day. Leaving home, moving onto campus. Finally being able to decide your own schedule, come and go as you please, and live on your own away from parental control.

But for some reason, Kagome wasn't as excited as she was when she got the acceptance letter in the mail last April. She wasn't thinking about how to decorate the tiny, closet sized room she'd be sharing with another girl for the rest of the school term. Kagome only had the sinking feeling in her gut that everything was about to change, maybe in a good way or maybe not. But nothing would ever be as certain as waking up every day and knowing exactly what to expect in high school. She felt lost, hopelessly lost.

Kagome was knocked out of her reverie by the slam of a car trunk though. Looking up, she noticed her mom was already finished packing up the SUV with various cardboard boxes. Kagome had been so nervous; she had packed and recounted everything that was riding in her own little red sedan the night before. At the beginning of summer Kagome had convinced her mother to let her take the car with her to college and that they could drive separately to the campus. Now she was not quite so excited about the three-hour drive to The University alone.

As her mother approached her to make sure that they hadn't forgotten anything in the painfully early morning, Kagome turned back towards the house. It was so familiar that she had never really taken a long look at it. Their house was such a nondescript building. It was two stories with small rectangular windows and shingles on the roof. A few small bushes decorated the exterior, but nothing extravagant. They had an old shed off to the right, with a dried up well inside. At one point in time the house had used well water to function, but they had long ago switched to normal plumbing. Now it was just a storage shed, a wooden plank nailed to the opening of the well so the cat would stop getting stuck in there.

The only really fascinating feature about her childhood home was the massive tree in the front yard. It was still a vibrant green in August, fall not having set in yet. But the blossoms that covered it in spring and rained pink petals throughout the months had long faded. She had always been fascinated about how that tree had probably been there longer then the whole city had. If only she could age like a tree, the sensation of getting older was weighing heavily on her today.

"I think we have everything, don't you?" Kagome twitched a bit, startled by the voice of her mother. As she turned towards her, Kagome mechanically lifted her hands to her wavy black hair, which was becoming impossibly tangled in the slight breeze, and pulled it back into a ponytail. Her mother continued talking. "We have been double checking all the boxes this past week. I think we're finally ready to get going. Are you excited to be leaving home?"

It's amazing that when you're fourteen and angry at your parents and all you want them to do is get out of your life; when you finally reach that moment where they're saying goodbye, all you want to do is hold them. Kagome managed to find her voice, and like she's been doing for the last five years, lie to her mom. "Yea, I can't wait to get there. I can't wait to live on my own." A week ago this would have been true. Now Kagome just felt a lingering regret.

Taking one last glance at the house, Kagome slipped into her car and went through the familiar routine of plugging her iPod into the car's stereo. She may be apprehensive about the future, but she was ready for it.

She had only been to The University once before, and didn't quite know the way there. So her mother had decided that she would lead their little caravan and Kagome would follow behind.

For three hours there was nothing to really focus on. The landscape was just a blur of greenery and concrete in the background as Kagome stayed eerily focused on the back of her mother's SUV. Every now and then a box would shift in the trunk, visible through the back window. All Kagome could focus on was the barely noticeable music in the background and the hum of the wind whipping around her car.

Then a break in scenery, something tangibly altered in the air around her. And Kagome's stomach twisted as an unobtrusive sign appeared in the distance. It was large and green like any other road sign, but in blaring white letters it read 'The University 15 Miles'. She was only fifteen miles away from the rest of her life. It's hard to explain the feeling that washed over Kagome, a mix of excitement and unease.

Countryside slowly transformed into strip malls. The strip malls then turned into more historic looking buildings. The University was a very old campus, built in the middle of nowhere essentially. The only living beings that kept the early college students company were the cows that would roam onto the campus and eat the bushes until the old wrought iron fence was erected.

Since the early 1800s, a town had built itself around the campus. Apparently even two hundred years ago savvy businessmen had realized that college kids are not very responsible with their money cause the downtown area was made up of very old buildings. At one point maybe they were respectable shops, cafes, and barbershops. Now they were bars with a few overpriced stores sprinkled about. Kagome had never been one to go out and drink on the weekends in high school, so she didn't really know what to think about the bars. She didn't own a fake ID, and was never the type of girl that could flirt with a doorman until he bent the rules a little.

She would probably have to meet people at the fraternity parties instead of the bars. Kagome had never really been to many parties, but she was looking forward to exploring all that the campus had to offer, academically and socially. Maybe sometime she would be able to find someone who could make her a fake ID… But that is extremely illegal, so maybe not.

They continued past the downtown area towards the actual campus. At the moment they were driving through the area of campus that they take high school students on tours, because the tour guides never take prospective students by the ugly buildings with low ceilings built in the eighties. This area of campus was where all the older, 1800s buildings dwelled. There were large white buildings with columns surrounded by expanses of neatly cut lawn and pruned rose bushes.

They continued farther down until the high rise rose up in the distance. The high rise were dorms designed for freshmen. The rooms were barely big enough to fit two people in, and the building had ten floors so the administrators could shove over a thousand new students into the one facility. Both girls and guys were on the same floor, but the community showers were definitely gender exclusive.

As the building came closer and closer Kagome had the awful feeling that this was going to be her knew home. Her new room would be smaller then the one she has now and would have another occupant on top of that. And she would have to use a community bathroom, which they conveniently had not shown anyone at the freshmen orientation. She still didn't know if it was a large community showing area like in the high school gym lockers, or in separate stalls. Hopefully they were in separate stalls…

The traffic around the high rise was awful even at 8 in the morning. She glanced around the parking lot they were turning into as various students and parents lugged boxes across the cracked pavement towards the front doors, which were thrust wide open trying to appear welcoming.

At the entrance to the parking lot, a few bored looking students lounged about holding a large bundle of slips. When they pulled to a stop in front of the them, the boy handed Kagome and her mother a slip of paper each to stick on their cars so they don't get towed for parking there while they were unloading since normally you have to pay for the parking spots. After finding two parking spaces next to each other, Kagome and her mother got out of their respective cars and started to pull some of the smaller boxes out of the car. There were dollies in the lobby of the building, so they would wait till after their first trip to grab the heavy items like the fridge or the microwave.

Kagome had been exchanging emails with her roommate for the past couple months after receiving an official email stating they would be living together. So her roommate, Sango, said she would bring the TV and the futon to place under the lofted twin beds if Kagome would bring the appliances. It had worked out well for the two, that way each spent about an equal amount of money on the furnishings in the dorm room.

The parking lot was severely cracked and at such a steep angle, Kagome was seriously concerned that a few of the top-heavy cars might just fall over. The incline to the front doors of the building was also a killer. By the time they reached the lobby, both were a little winded. Kagome was not looking forward to having to walk up and down that hill several times a day for the rest of freshmen year. But it's not like she could change anything now.

The lobby had been temporarily transformed into a move in assembly line. As her mother waited off to the side, Kagome approached the first desk. She was handed a few pamphlets on how to behave in the residence halls, such as no jumping out of windows and no starting fires in the rooms. It all seemed like common sense, but I guess they had had issues in the past of students apparently losing their minds after a couple drinks.

The next table was a simple sign in sheet, then they sent her to a specific desk depending on what floor she would be living on. She had been stuck on the tenth floor, the very top. The bright side, she wouldn't have to listen to anyway walking or falling on the floor above her. The bad part, she was on the tenth fucking floor. Routine fire drills were going to be hell on her.

At the last table, two slightly older students were lounging behind the table talking to each other. As she approached them they quieted quickly. The girl was very pretty in a relaxed way. Her skin was slightly tan, so the short dark green dress she was wearing complimented her skin tone very well. Her dark brown hair was twisted in a small ponytail with bangs hanging in her face. Dark eyelashes highlighted her brown eyes.

The boy looked to be about a year older then Kagome. His skin was very tan, making the bight blue eyes pop. He had long black hair, pulled into a high ponytail on the back of his head. He could actually pull off the long hair though, which was strange for a man. He had a slightly formfitting gray shirt and brown slacks on. His arms were crossed against his chest, and he looked extremely bored.

Kagome awkwardly approached the table. "Hi, the guy at table two told me to come over here." She was taken aback when the piercing blue eyes suddenly narrowed in on her. The look was so intense, Kagome lost track of what she was saying. "Um, is this where I get my key?" Her voice seemed annoying high.

The girl elbowed her companion a little, startling him from her reverie and releasing Kagome for a moment. "My name is Nazuma, and this is Koga. We are the two resident assistants for the tenth floor. Of course, Koga is in charge of the boy's hall and I will be in charge of the girl's. Can I have your name please?" She slid another sign in sheet across the table towards Kagome.

"My name is Kagome Higurashi, my roommate is supposed to be Sango Tajiya." Finding her name on the list, Kagome initialed next to her own name. Next to Sango's, there was no signature so Kagome would be the first one to see their room.

Nazuma smiled and handed her a small packet of forms. "You're definitely at the right table. You'll be in room 1017. That form has to be filled out and returned to me today. Basically just write down everything that looks broken in your room so we don't accidentally charge you for damage at the end of the year." Then Nazuma pulled out a small envelope. "In this envelope will be your room key and your mailbox combination. We have a community mail room on the second floor, just past the glass doors that lead to the dorms."

Kagome nodded and almost turned to leave when Koga suddenly leaned forward and grasped her hands. "Even though I am not specifically responsible for any issues on the girl's hall, I am an RA for the tenth floor. So if you ever need anything, feel free to come by my room at any time of day or night. It's been a pleasure meeting you." He flashed her a quick smile before letting her go. Kagome walked back towards her mother feeling slightly overwhelmed.

She wasn't used to guys paying her any attention like that. Kagome knew she was pretty; she just didn't have the presence that some high school girls did. But no one here knew that, no one here knew that she was awkward around boys. If there was ever a time to change, this was it.

"What was that about?" Her mother questioned as Kagome grabbed the box she had deposited next to her mother and they headed through another set of doors towards her new room.

Kagome flushed a little. "Oh, they are going to be the resident assistants on the tenth floor, so they were just introducing themselves." She set down the cardboard box she was carrying, full of clothes, as she pressed the up button in the elevator lobby. "The girl's name was Nazuma, and the guy is Koga."

Her mother just smiled down at Kagome, "Well that's nice of them to make you feel welcome." Kagome just nodded a little, she was still feeling a little overwhelmed.

The elevator seemed to take forever to reach the tenth floor. Finally it stopped and they exited into the tenth floor lobby, which was basically just dull, white tile and white washed walls with a few flyers hanging up. Two halls jutted off from the lobby, rooms 1001-1020 would be the girls' hall, and 1021-1030 was for the boys.

Turning towards the girl's hall, they walked past the community bathroom at the entrance, which fortunately had stalls, and continued down the hall. Kagome's room was almost the very last room at the end. For a moment, Kagome fumbled with the envelope pulling the brass key out. Opening up the door wearily, Kagome was stunned. What lay beyond was worse then Kagome had ever pictured.

The room was tiny. Beige tile spread across the whole floor with semi-matching beige built-in wardrobe and shelving unit. The two 'desks' advertised were just a single long piece of concrete countertop spread across the back wall under the window with two old brown chairs tucked under it. The beds were fixed in place, one against each sidewall. They were not lofted yet, so the only open space was a 4-foot by 6-foot strip of flooring in between the beds. A single large fluorescent light was attached to the ceiling. She was horrified.

"I guess this is where I'll be living for the next year." Kagome mumbled, stepping into the room hesitantly, as if the room was just an illusion and it was going to change as soon as she was in it.

Kagome felt her mother pat her on the shoulder reassuringly. "I'm sure once we loft the beds, the room will feel twice as large. We'll make this work." It's not like they had any other choice.

And with that said they went to work. After two hours of struggling to learn how to loft the bed, lugging dozens of large and small boxes up to the tenth floor, and shoving everything she owned into a 4-foot wardrobe and four small drawers; they were almost done moving in. And the room did look much better with the lofted beds. It added much more walking space. They placed the mini fridge under one bed and put the microwave on top of that. The TV, once Sango arrived, would go next to the appliances and the futon would go under the other bed.

Suddenly, as if on cue, the door opened up while Kagome and her mother were attempting to put sheets on a bed that was six feet in the air. A young woman walked in, looked probably as horrified as Kagome had looked when she first saw the room. The girl had long chestnut hair, pulled back into a loose ponytail. Tendrils of hair hung around her face. She had perfectly smooth ivory skin, and shining brown eyes set off by a pink eye shadow. She was taller then Kagome, with a slim body. Suddenly the girl turned towards Kagome and gave her a small smile. "I'm Sango. I guess you are Kagome?"

Kagome returned the smile. This was the first time she was seeing her roommate in person, even though they had known about each other for several months. "Its nice to see you too. I already have all my stuff up here, do you need help unpacking?"

Sango just nodded a little. "That would be nice."

A/N: Ok, that was the first chapter. I know you're thinking it's probably moving a little slow. Six pages and she only moved in a just met Sango, I understand. But I want this to be realistic, and you don't meet everyone in the first day of campus. Next chapter we'll get to know Kagome and Sango a bit better during their first weekend of college, which will surprise you, and see our first glimpse of some of the other characters. So please review, I will take the feedback into account when writing the story. And thank you for reading.


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